Giving some credit
by AirborneGirl
Summary: Deeks has something to tell Hetty when Kensi comes home. Seen from a startled and impressed Callen's POV.


**Giving some credit**

**AN**: This is still very much a Kensi-Deeks story, but told from Callen's POV as he witnesses Deeks in action. Also, this one is not for the Hetty lovers out there. She's an entertaining character to watch, but she went just a bit too far in my opinion when she sent Kensi away on such a horrible mission. So no, Hetty gets what's coming to her in this little tale.

**Disclaimer**: If I owned NCIS: LA, I would have them written this into the script. Sadly, I hold no such ownership and/or power.

**Spoilers**: Kensi comes back after her mission in Afghanistan season 5.

You have to admit, when LAPD liaison officer Marty Deeks had first joined the team, you didn't put too muck stock in the cocky, shaggy blonde surfer dude. He was too laid back, too childish and too much of a comedian for you to take him seriously.

You know that not taking this job seriously can get you killed. That, or your partner. And though you realized back then it would take the man some time to adjust and a lot of training to keep up with the sometimes ridiculous things your jobs asked all of you to do (which superseded any training he could have had so far by a hundred fold), you weren't sure this new guy would ever have what it takes to make it. To not get himself shot and his partner too. It wasn't like Kensi needed to witness another partner and friend get killed in action.

Really, what the hell was Hetty thinking when she offered this man-child a position here at OPS? And than expect them all to work with him too? If you weren't so sure she was anything but senile, you would have asked Nate for a psych evaluation for your formidable boss.

As it was, you took the guy in stride and slowly learned to put some value in him. After all, he seemed to know what he was doing (mostly) and even seemed to be a hell of a lot more intelligent than he appeared to be on a daily basis. And Kensi was still moderately healthy. She even got some rather sadistic pleasure in hurting the guy, in his pride as well as body parts.

Your female coworker might not seem all that tough, there are very few people capable of taking her out. Even you're not sure you could.

So yeah, for better or worse, Marty Deeks became a team member, earning his place and showing some merits, especially when working undercover. You got to hand it to him, he can go from pimp to genitor to snarky business man without blinking an eye.

And he can charm the socks of every lady with a wink and a smile, whether witness or suspect, whether ten or sixty years old, though you don't know how he does it, when he looks like can't even handle a simple razor blade.

Apparently, the scruff works. On some people.

It still managed to surprise you however, that the scruff seemed to work on his partner as well. Kick-ass Kensi Blye, who could and did kiss you for an undercover op and brushed it off as nothing (didn't hurt; really it didn't), can't seem to accomplish the same when it comes to her 'Shaggy'. There has been more than one occasion where their act as a madly in love, married couple was just a little too credible to merely be an act. You never mentioned it in fear of getting your ass kicked. Those pointy shoes do not look appealing when you picture them coming in direct contact with your private parts.

Perhaps, as team leader, you should have said something about it, but since you weren't all that sure and since they did get the job done, despite of or maybe because of their bickering, you never did. Besides, it's Hetty wrath they, well, all of you really, need to worry about. And as long as she's not bothered with it, neither are you.

Whatever works between partners, works. And since they work almost, almost as well as you and Sam, there's nothing to worry about.

Until these past few weeks, that is.

The events of the past few months have certainly wreaked havoc on all of you. Finding both Deeks and Sam in that abandoned auto shop, tortured within an inch of their lives, has unsettled you as well as Kensi and on some level, Eric and Nell too. Even Hetty showed more concern than at any other point.

You yourself were the most concerned with the partnership of your junior coworkers. You and Sam were going to be okay. Even Sam and Deeks, who had been at odds with each other right before the proverbial shit hit the fan, had reached some sort of agreement and Sam has been a staunch defender of the blonde haired younger man ever since.

Seemed like Deeks does deserve more credit than you have given him so far.

But somewhere along the way, things shifted between Kensi and Deeks, starting with the moment Kensi had to walk away from her badly broken partner and leaving him tied in that chair until the job got done. As a professional, she did exactly what was expected from her and did it well. As a partner (and, if your gut was correct; a woman very much in love with said partner), she committed the ultimate sin: she left him, at the very moment he needed her the most.

Sure, it bothered you to turn your back at Sam too, but you know it's not quite the same. Your trust in and care for Sam is absolute, and you know that you would have mourned his loss deeply had help come too late, but there's a huge difference between the brotherly affection you feel for him (well, all of them, really) and the romantic love that has so obviously been developing between the two junior agents, whether they're ready to acknowledge it or not.

Both agents have been suffering from serious PTSD episodes ever since. Thank God Sam has his family to turn to, but Deeks, for all intents and purposes, is alone. He has his trusted dog, Monty, he has his surf buddies, but he is a very private man, despite of his charm.

Yet, with the help of Nate, he's been letting Kensi back into his life, slowly learning to rebuild the trust that got shattered when he witnessed her walk away from him mere minutes after he finally started to believe she was really there, that the nightmare was finally over.

It took some time and you don't want to know what else, but they were almost back to normal (or whatever was normal for them these days), when the unthinkable happened: for some reason unbeknownst to all of you, some upscale, moronic, suicidal plan concocted by Granger and Hetty and God only knows who else is higher up in the food chain, yanked Kensi away from her still suffering better half.

There was no living with Deeks during her long absence and there was no way any of you could shake him out of his rut. He did his job, respectably so for a man who's lucky (?) to be alive at all, but the very soul of him seemed withered. It made you worry. Was he going to hold it together or was it better to persuade Hetty to send him on leave?

Sure, as if she would fall for that. Last time Kensi took leave, it was to go after her father's killer, no barrels held. If Deeks took leave, you knew, as well as Hetty did, he was going after Kensi. And you weren't sure if you wouldn't help him do it either. The same would go without saying for the rest of the team. Getting Kensi back was not on Deeks' to-do list only.

So no leave for detective Deeks.

Then, just as you were sure something was going to snap from the tension, it was lifted. Kensi returned, with as little warning as when she left. You can't help but smile when you remember her point-blank refusal to be debriefed before she saw him again. Not you guys. Just him. Him first.

She made Hetty, Granger, director Vance, Nate and even the Secnav wait. No pleading, no coaxing, no threats worked. It's not hard to see why they had so little effect on her. When you've just been yanked from hell, no threats can scare you any longer. It's a trade all of you share: nothing really frightens you when it comes to your own life. You've seen, heard and felt too much to be bothered by verbal abuse.

The jury's still out if this is a good thing or not.

So Hetty placed a phone call to Mr. Deeks and they waited in complete silence, until Deeks wandered in, hours earlier than usual and more than a little agitated, having foregone his daily surfing trip after a curious message from his boss.

You have to hand it to him; even if Hetty's not his favorite person right now, he never ignores a call when he gets it.

None of you were there when he walked straight past his own desk and leapt up the stairs to the secluded room he was directed to. So nobody witnessed their reunion, though the young detective looked suspiciously teary-eyed when he ventured downstairs to wait for Kensi to be done with her debriefing.

He was in a strange mood when he came down, muttering to himself and glancing upstairs every five seconds while not even pretending to concentrate on the case file in front of him. Feeling unnaturally worried for him, you tried to get as close to him as possible without interfering. Much.

At one point, he did look up at you and you actually felt yourself take a quick step back, startled by the emotions displayed in his expressive blue eyes.

There was relief, of course. His partner was back, safe and sound at first glance. But there was also a smoldering anger, a mouth set in impatience and determination. This was the look of a man who was entirely fed-up with the way he was being left in the dark, with the way his partner was being plucked away from him and used as a puppet by the people higher up the food chain.

This was a man who could not and would not hide his feelings any longer.

Yup, Marty Deeks is pissed.

You can't say you blame him.

Time seemed to crawl by after that. Right now, it can't be half an hour later, but it sure feels like hours when looking at the mass of nervous energy across the bullpen. You shoot Sam a worried look, but your partner silently shakes his head. Let him be.

And perhaps that's for the best. Truth be told, you don't want to place yourself in direct line of fire of Deeks right now. The man looks dangerous, volatile. You've never seen him at work as Max Gentry, but for the first time, you can appreciate Deeks as a man to be reckoned with.

Finally, after perhaps ten more excruciating minutes, the door to the private office opens and Kensi comes out. Hesitantly, she makes her way down the stairs to the bullpen, where she looks around her as if she's never seen it before.

You're secretly glad Sam breaks the tension that threatened to choke all of you by taking a small step forward.

"Kensi? Glad to have you back, girl. We missed you."

He opens his arms, leaving it up to the shaken young woman to come to him if she wants to. After some slight hesitation, she does. Now you too stand to give her a hug. You can feel her tremble against your chest.

Letting go of you and giving you a watery smile, she looks around her. Without her even having to ask, he's there and when it's him, she shows no hesitation. She makes a beeline into his open arms, burying her face against his shirt. His arms close tightly around her, his hands rubbing soft circles on her back until the shudders wear off. She slumps against him until his hold is the only thing keeping her upright.

Above your heads, the door opens again and out comes Hetty. Over the top of Kensi's head, Deeks' eyes narrow. Slowly, he lets go of his precious hold on his girl, gently sitting her down on his own desk chair. He kisses the top of her head.

"Stay here, Princess. I'll be right back."

He turns to you and Sam.

"Keep an eye on her, will you."

You feel yourself nod in consent now is not the time to point out you won't make a habit of taking orders from a junior team member who's technically not a full member at all. Besides, he really doesn't give you much of an opportunity as he corners your small boss just as she's about to take the last step of the stairs. Even with the added few inches of height, he towers over her, taking full advantage of his lean 6'2" frame.

"What can I do for you, Mr. Deeks?"

Hetty sounds ever so correct, yet you think you detect a note of weariness in her voice. Like she's too tired to listen properly. For a moment, you think it might soften the heart of the man looming over her, but he ups the ante by putting his arms on both sides of the staircase railing, effectively trapping her, unless she of course backs up. For whatever reason, she doesn't.

Next to you, Sam holds his breath, ready to help. Who, you're not quite sure.

"First of all, drop the whole polite attitude, Hetty. It neither intimidates nor pacifies me. Plus, there's very, very little you can do for me or Kensi that'll make up for the months of heartache and danger you put her through."

Surprisingly, Hetty doesn't retort. Perhaps she knows that, for once, she deserves the criticism launched at her, even if the method Deeks is using does not deserve a prize either.

"Here's what's going to happen. All I expect you to do is nod and make it so. No ands, ifs or buts allowed. Got that?"

Again, the small lady doesn't say a word. Then, almost imperceptibly, she nods. Deeks continues, mouth still a thin, firm line.

"Right after this little talk, I'll take Kensi home. Then we'll both disappear for the rest of the month. I don't give a flying fig about how many leave days we still have. If it's not enough, fix it. You're good at that. We won't take our usual call phones and won't be in touch unless there's an emergency. We won't take calls from you. If you want to get in touch with us, have Callen or Sam call us. We'll leave the number with them and I trust them to keep it to themselves."

He shoots you and your partner a look over his shoulder. You exchange a quick look of your own with Sam, who nods. So do you.

"Sure thing Deeks."

He nods in thanks, then turns his attention to Hetty.

"We'll be back when we're back. And both of us expect to go back to work without anyone asking us questions we're not ready to answer, or find some kind of reduction on our paychecks. And if I come back to find out you had us followed, monitored or traced in any way, I swear to you, this whole Afghanistan excursion of yours is going to blow up right in your face."

Not waiting for any response whatsoever, Deeks turns, arms dropping from the staircase, liberating the chastised elderly lady. Yet, she doesn't move a muscle, just stands there with a sad, almost humiliated expression on her face.

Deeks turns one more time.

"Hetty? One more thing. Please be so kind (he snorts at the word) as to remove yourself from my medical files as my next-of-kin. That'll be Kensi now. Kensi or G. or Sam. You're not my family."

That's it for him. He rigorously turns his back on the woman still standing there frozen on the spot. Then, after one more glance, she turns and heads back up the stairs, her hunched shoulders shrinking her miniature figure even further into nothingness.

The Almighty Henrietta Lange is defeated. And you realize with a shock that you're still waiting for the pity to creep into your soul.

It doesn't.

One look at Kensi, who's still slumped in the exact same position her partner has left her in and not giving any reason to assume she's even heard him, is enough for you to forego on the sympathy with the woman you once thought of as your only family. Now, as Deeks practically labeled you his brother, you're glad to take it.

And Hetty? She might be able to fight her way back into your good senses, but it'll take a while. A good while.

Ignoring everyone and everything around him, the shaggy blonde man squats in front of his chair, caressing the face of his partner, his girl, with such tenderness it makes you avert your glance for a moment. This is not for you to witness.

"Princess? I'll be just one more minute, than I'll get you the hell out of here. We can go wherever you want to go, do whatever you want to do, okay? Anything goes. Just one more minute."

She must have conveyed some kind of message with her eyes (those two have always been good at that), because he nods, stands and turns to you.

He takes a cell phone out of his pocket that is so ancient it doesn't even have GPS tracking on it. You can't help but grin. Smart man.

"Let me send you a text so you'll have my number. Put it under whatever name you want. Share it only with Sam here. Not Nell and Eric. Bless them, but both wonder twins are still far too easily intimidated and what they don't know, won't come back to bite me and Kensi in the ass."

You phone buzzes and you store the number under 'emergency dentist'.

Deeks reads it, eyebrows flying up to his hairline and grinning.

"Dentist, really?"

"Best I could think of. Besides, it's not implausible for one to call an emergency dentist at midnight."

Getting your point, he nods.

"don't remind me. Okay, in case of an emergency, call me. And I mean a real emergency. In case your phone gets stolen or confiscated or whatever and someone other than you calls, I will hang up and ditch the phone."

"How will you know it's not me?"

"Password."

"Someone might overhear me using it."

He thinks for a moment.

"Here's what we do. You send me a text with the question 'can I make an appointment for a day next week?' If I answer with 'what day?', than you can call me within the next two minutes. If it takes longer, I won't take the call until you repeat the text. Deal?"

You got to hand it to him, he's quite smart. You shake his hand.

"Deal. Now go and take care of our girl there."

Gently, he helps her up and allows her to say goodbye to all of you. She gives you a wan smile and you can see the dark circles under her eyes. Yeah, she needs to be as far away from this place as Deeks can get her.

And you? You and Sam will do everything it takes over here to stop any attempt of Hetty, Granger, Vance, SecNav or even the president to find the young partners. They're your family and you protect them with your life.

As they walk out, arm in arm, Deeks looks at you one more time.

"See you in a few weeks guys. And thanks. For having our backs."

Sam nods and smiles. "Anytime."

You wholeheartedly agree.

"Anytime, brother."

The smartass detective gives you his full wide smile at that, reveling in the small but significant recognition this one word has given him.

Which was long overdue. You should have given him a lot more credit a long time ago. You're glad you got the chance now.

THE END.

_Thanks for reading! Reviews are always appreciated. _


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